Framing effect (psychology)

Extensionality violation

In logic, extensionality requires "two formulas which have the same truth-value under any truth-assignments to be mutually substitutable salva veritate in a sentence that contains one of these formulas."^[10] Put simply, objects that have the same external properties are equal. This principle, applied to decision making, suggests that making a decision in a problem should not be affected by how the problem is described. For example, varied descriptions of the same decision problem should not give rise to different decisions, due to the extensionality principle. If judgments are made on the basis of irrelevant information as described, that is called an extensionality violation. Addressing extensionality violations entails cultivating awareness of how different descriptions of a problem may inadvertently influence decisions, and as a result developing strategies to mitigate such deviations. In doing so, decision-makers can aim to uphold the extensionality principle as a guide in navigating the complexity of choice, focusing on decisions that are more in tune to the inherent properties of the problem rather than its descriptions.^[10]

Childhood and adolescence

Framing effects in decision-making become stronger as children age.^[20][21][22] This is partially because qualitative reasoning increases with age.^[20] While preschoolers are more likely to make decisions based on quantitative properties, such as probability of an outcome, elementary schoolers and adolescents become progressively more likely to reason qualitatively, opting for a sure option in a gain frame and a risky option in a loss frame regardless of probabilities.^[20] The increase in qualitative thinking is related to an increase in "gist based" thinking that occurs over a lifetime.^[23]

However, qualitative reasoning, and thus susceptibility to framing effects, is still not as strong in adolescents as in adults,^[20][22] and adolescents are more likely than adults to choose the risky option under both the gain and loss frames of a given scenario.^[21] One explanation for adolescent tendencies toward risky choices is that they lack real-world experience with negative consequences, and thus over-rely on conscious evaluation of risks and benefits,^[21] focusing on specific information and details or quantitative analysis.^[24] This reduces influence of framing effects and leads to greater consistency across frames of a given scenario.^[24] Children between the ages of 10 and 12 are more likely to take risks and show framing effects, while younger children only considered the quantitative differences between the two options presented.^[25]

Young adulthood

Younger adults are more likely than older adults to be enticed by risk-taking when presented with loss frame trials. This is a noteworthy phenomenon that underscores the complex interplay between age and decision-making tendencies.^[11]

In multiple studies of undergraduate students, researchers have found that students are more likely to prefer options framed positively. This could be attributed to a variety of factors such as an inclination for novelty-seeking, a more optimistic outlook on outcomes, or even a reduced aversion to risk which is inherent in youth.^[26] For example, they are more likely to enjoy meat labeled 75% lean meat as opposed to 25% fat, or use condoms advertised as being 95% effective as opposed to having a 5% risk of failure.^[26]

Young adults are especially susceptible to framing effects when presented with an ill-defined problem in which there is no correct answer and individuals must arbitrarily determine what information they consider relevant.^[26] For example, undergraduate students are more willing to purchase an item such as a movie ticket after losing an amount equivalent to the item's cost than after losing the item itself.This susceptibility underscores the importance of considering psychological factors in the context of decision-making. Recognizing this vulnerability emphasizes the need for decision-makers to be aware of cognitive biases when navigating decision-making in which there isn't a clear answer so that they can take a more informed approach.^[26]

Older adulthood

The framing effect is claimed to be greater in older adults than in younger adults or adolescents.^[12][13][27] This claim may be a result of enhanced negativity bias,^[13] though some sources claim that the negativity bias actually decreases with age.^[15]

In particular, this increased susceptibility to the framing effect manifested itself mainly in response to negative frames. Positive framings were not found to have a significant effect on the framing effect in older adults.^[27] This may be due in part to socioemotional selectivity theory, where the increased age shifts the focus of adults from risk taking to maximizing their emotional experiences in the present, hence the increased framing in the negative frame.^[27] The dual process theory may also play a role as negative framings evoke less heightened responses, leading to the deployment of the implicit processes. The implicit process is found to be frame-sensitive, and thus may be the reason why framing is pronounced in negative frames for older adults.^[27][28]

Another possible cause is that older adults have fewer cognitive resources available to them and are more likely to default to less cognitively demanding strategies when faced with a decision.^[11] They tend to rely on easily accessible information, or frames, regardless of whether that information is relevant to making the decision in question.^[11] Several studies have shown that younger adults will make less biased decisions than older adults because they base their choices on interpretations of patterns of events and can better employ decision making strategies that require cognitive resources like working-memory skills. Older adults, on the other hand, make choices based on immediate reactions to gains and losses.^[11]

Older adults' lack of cognitive resources, such as flexibility in decision making strategies, may cause older adults to be influenced by emotional frames more so than younger adults or adolescents.^[29] In addition, as individuals age, they make decisions more quickly than their younger counterparts.^[11] It is significant that, when prompted to do so, older adults will often make a less biased decision with reevaluation of their original choice.^[11][12]

The increase in framing effects among older adults has important implications, especially in medical contexts.^{[12][13][14][27]} Older adults are influenced heavily by the inclusion or exclusion of extraneous details, meaning they are likely to make serious medical decisions based on how doctors frame the two options rather than the qualitative differences between the options, causing older adults to inappropriately form their choices.^[11]

When considering cancer treatments, framing can shift older adults' focus from short- to long-term survival under a negative and positive frame, respectively.^[12] When presented with treatment descriptions described in positive, negative, or neutral terms, older adults are significantly more likely to agree to a treatment when it is positively described than they are to agree to the same treatment when it is described neutrally or negatively.^[13] Additionally, framing often leads to inconsistency in choice: a change in description qualities after an initial choice is made can cause older adults to revoke their initial decision in favor of an alternative option.^[13] Older adults also remember positively framed statements more accurately than negatively framed statements.^[12][30] This has been demonstrated by evaluating older adults' recall of statements in pamphlets about health care issues.^[12][30]